Robert Curry Land - husband, father, brother, grandfather, storyteller, lover of coffee, dancing, and a good mindless, tuneless whistle - left us on February 22, 1992 due to skin cancer.

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Born in 1911 in Eclectic, Alabama to Barbara Marie Yates and Henry Fredrick Land, Bob was the fourth of five children and the youngest of the Land boys.

“He loved coffee, fried chicken, and square dancing and always called his granddaughters darlin'”

Bob spent his childhood in Alabama and eventually moved to Compton, California where he met the love of his life, Violet Ethel Sams. The two were married in 1933 in Yuma, Arizona.

Bob joined the US Navy in his youth and served honorably until the 1940s, when he was honorably discharged. After a short stint as a truck driver, Violet convinced him to apply with the fire department. He joined the department and spent a successful career as a fire fighter.

Bob and Violet had two sons - Roger James Land and Richard Steven Land. Bob was a strong, loving father who showed the most beautiful example of how to be a husband.

Bob's grandchildren remember a happy, active grandfather who loved coffee, fried chicken, and square dancing. He always smelled like old school Old Spice - so much so that you knew immediately when Bob had arrived (that, and the sound of his near-constant, quiet whistling). He loved to tinker in his garage, was always on the lookout for a new bolo tie, and always called his granddaughters "darlin" or "sweetheart."